Last night I had an amazing find : "The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse"(1960), the third film in the Mabuse series and the last one directed by it's creator, the legendary Fritz Lang. I wasn't looking for Lang or Mabuse; I found the movie on Youtube as a result of an IMDB search for an actress named Dawn Addams, who I'd seen in an episode of "Danger Man", the brilliant 60s series starring Patrick McGoohan that I own on dvd. Browsing Miss Addams' credits, I saw that she was in this film, and as a huge fan of Dr. Mabuse, my interest was piqued. Over the years I'd read mixed reviews on "1000 Eyes". Coming as it did 38 years after the first installment :"Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler" (Silent, 1922), and 27 years after it's classic sequel "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse", some critics and fans thought it was second rate, and merely an attempt by Lang to cash in one final time. Others said it was a worthy update on the Mabuse saga, that of the Notorious Megacriminal, who is so diabolical that he wants to overthrow not only the government, not just the whole world, but the entire Universe. What convinced me to watch was the notation the uploader included on his Youtube post that said "HD". I'm a sucker for a razor sharp print, and I love Dr. Mabuse, so I figured "what the heck" and pressed play.
I'll preface my review by saying that, if you have the intention of watching "1000 Eyes", you should at the very least watch "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse" first. If you have the patience to sit through a 4 1/2 hour Silent film, I'd suggest starting at the beginning, with "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler", just to get a full picture of the Mad Doctor, who - due to his dominant mental and psychic abilities - does indeed have the power to achieve his goal. How interesting that Lang foreshadowed the rise of Hitler with the first two Mabuse films, and while Mabuse works covertly (by subterfuge and mind control) versus the overt aggression and militarism of Der Fuhrer, the end result is the same, or at least is desired by each megalomaniac. We should thank God that Mabuse was not, in the end, more deadly than Hitler, or we'd be back to Square One prior to the Big Bang, the Universe having collapsed in on itself as a result of his mischief.
At any rate, 'how's the movie Ad'? I found it to be very enjoyable and stylish, a mid-century modern Mabuse, with sharp-angled German interiors substituting for the chiaroscuro griminess of the first films. Most of the action takes place at the Hotel Luxor, in an unnamed city (likely Behr-LEEN). As the movie opens, a TV reporter is shot while sitting in his car at a stoplight. His cause of death is ruled a heart attack, however, as there is no visible bullet wound in his body. Shortly after this, a woman (Dawn Addams) stands on the ledge of an upper floor at the Luxor, threatening to jump. After some coaxing by another resident, she comes back inside and is treated by her psychiatrist, a Dr. Jordan.
The police inspector becomes intrigued after learning of the suicide attempt, for the TV reporter had been conducting interviews with a renowned psychic who lives at the hotel. Was the woman's despair related to the reporter's death? Both are connected to the Luxor. The inspector orders an autopsy on the reporter and the coroner discovers what we already knew - that he was murdered, shot in the head with a thin, nearly undetectable needle. But why?
The psychic then calls the inspector to report that he "envisioned" the reporter's death in a clairvoyant trance, and may be able to provide more details if a seance is conducted. This will happen a little later in the film.
But what of the suicidal woman? She is taken under the wing of the man who rescued her, an American industrialist named "Henry Travers" (Peter van Eyck). Travers is falling in love with Addams, and as she recovers he entrusts her to no one but the good Dr. Jordan. Addams gives vague reasons for her stand on the ledge, including her abusive marriage, but they don't add up. Something else is bothering her, Mr. Travers can sense it, but what on Earth could it be?
Meanwhile, an attempt is made on the life of the inspector. I won't reveal the details, but it'll make you jump out of your seat! While doing research into previous terrorist bombings, he comes across the name of a Dr. Mabuse, a criminally insane individual who caused havoc in the city years earlier. But Mabuse died in 1932, so it couldn't be him...........I mean, it couldn't possibly be him, right? He's been dead for almost thirty years. But I mean, c'mon; the movie is called "The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse". If he's dead, why is his name in the title?
Well, maybe it's because of his "1000 Eyes". They do indeed live on, but I'm not gonna tell you much about them, and I'm gonna leave you guessing about the above-ground viability of Mabuse himself. There is another character hanging around the hotel who always seems to be present when something plotwise is going down. He's a portly,self-effacing insurance salesman named "Hieronymus P. Mistelsweig" ("the 'P' is for 'Paunch', he says when introducing himself). Hieronymus P. is funny, and can often be found in the bar, but he's also kinda weird. He bases all of his sales on the Zodiac profiles of potential clients, and won't insure anyone whose planets are unfavorable. He's even done a chart on the Hotel Luxor, and reports to Mr. Travers that the building was born under a bad sign, in addition to being originally built as a billet for Nazi officials during the Third Reich. Mistelsweig is also nosy, and wants in on the seance. His affinity for the occult is received well by the psychic, who includes him in the group when the event occurs.
That's all I'm gonna tell you about the plot. There's more than enough to digest, and actually there's so much going on that you may find it hard to follow at times, because Lang doesn't explain everything as it is happening. In fact, it's a film I'll need to see twice just to tie up a few details I may have missed the first time. Because of it's many layers and sometimes confusing nature, I was not thinking "classic" as I watched, but rather "competent thriller". But now, the next morning, I am re-thinking that first-glance opinion. This film may well be a classic. As mentioned, it doesn't have the Expressionistic look of "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse", but the notable Fritz Lang production design is present in every scene. There's a little bit of James Bond to the look, in the modern hotel suites, but he furnishes each room with a Kandinsky-esque painting, in keeping with the Lang tradition for art and composition. In that regard, the photography is flawless, as good in framing and texture as in any movie from the European New Wave cinema. Overall, though it has strong touches of sci-fi and avant-garde theosophy, I'd still call it a thriller. And I do indeed think it's a classic. In looking it up on IMDB, I just now see that is was the last film Fritz Lang ever directed.
He really went out with a bang. "The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse" gets Two Huge Thumbs Up from me. Whether you're already a fan of The Doctor or new to his crazy ways, it's a Must See, and the print is razor sharp. One small caveat is that the dialogue is dubbed to English rather than subtitled, but it's pretty well matched to the lip movements of the actors, so not to worry. See it tonight! /////
I just finished reading "Dreamland", the autobiography of Bob Lazar, and I highly recommend it to anyone fascinated with the subject of UFOs, but also to anyone who wants insight into (or is already familiar with) the consequences of involvement in a National Security event. It's a mindblower of a book to say the least.
I also finished Lyn Macdonald's "1918 : To The Last Man", and will be putting World War One aside for a while, for the simple reason that it's so gutwrenching to read about. Macdonald is an exemplary historian, however, and a talented writer. I've now completed two of her WW1 books and we'll return to the rest of them eventually. Next up is "The Last Days of John Lennon" by none other than James Patterson, the world's best selling author. He's mainly a novelist (his Bill Clinton-coauthored thriller is a must read), and I don't know yet if "Last Days" is presented as fiction or non-fiction, but I'm gonna dig in tonight and I'll get back to you. My album last evening was "Sofronitsky Plays Schumann", i.e. classical piano music. I'm gonna try to include more rock while I read, but as I've mentioned before, for some reason I find it hard to concentrate when there are vocals in the music. Why would that be? Words sung competing with words being read, I suppose. Well anyhow, onward and upward. /////
Have an awesome day. I send you Tons of Love as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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